MM in the News: Talking with Fast Company, CNBC, Crain’s, and Entrepreneur
March 31, 2016
It’s been a wild week here at MM.LaFleur. On the heels of last week’s spring launch (have you checked out the Contrarian collection yet?), we’ve been popping up all over the news. Back when we were a teeny-tiny startup, we dreamed of having weeks like this. And well, here we are!
We’re so excited to be making our mark in the media, but more importantly, we’re so grateful to our longtime customers and readers who have “gotten it” all along. You are very much at the center of our story, and we hope you enjoy these four (relatively quick) reads.
CEO Sarah in her Alex.
1. Our CEO was named to Crains’ “40 Under 40” list:
Cara Trager spoke to Sarah about her vision for MM.LaFleur and her goals as the company grows.
The hardest part of online clothes shopping, especially for professional women preparing to plunk down a bundle on office wear, is clicking the “buy” button. Sarah Miyazawa LaFleur’s three-year-old e-commerce startup provides an alternative to the button.
…And because women are “always asking us what shoes they should wear” with their outfits, the firm is introducing footwear later this year. “Our goal is to be a one-stop shop for professional women,” LaFleur said.
Read the full story here.
2. We were profiled in Fast Company:
Liz Segran spoke with our founders about how we’re challenging the myth that all women “love to shop.”
“I’m so sick of the stereotype that all women are shopping-obsessed,” Sarah LaFleur, the 32-year-old cofounder of the workwear brand MM.LaFleur, tells Fast Company. “For some women, buying clothes is just not a priority for one reason or another, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t care about good style or looking elegant,” she says.
“Your clothes should be the least interesting thing about you,” LaFleur says. “From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., working women are going about doing things that are important to them. As a brand, we’re saying that it is awesome being a professional woman in 2016. While there’s obviously still work that has to be done to break the glass ceiling, there are so many good things happening for us, and we want to celebrate that.”
Read the full story here.
3. We were featured in CNBC’s piece on brands shaking up retail:
Krystina Gustafson talked to Sarah about how MM.LaFleur broke away from the pack of traditional e-commerce retailers.
“Our big ‘aha’ moment was when we realized a lot of our customers, for them, their clothing is actually not the most important thing,” LaFleur said.
“What we’ve always wanted to do since day one is be the one-stop shop for professional women,” LaFleur said. “It’s baffling to me why they’re such an overlooked category.”
Read the full story here.
4. Sarah and Narie talked to Entrepreneur about business-building (while staying healthy):
Mary Deelsnyder wrote about our founders’ rise as entrepreneurs and how they’ve stayed healthy along the way.
Sarah’s always been 125 percent into her career. While you’re in startup mode, you don’t have time to stop and think: “I need to take a yoga class. You’re just trying to get stuff done.”
Now that she’s five years into the business, she works less—65 to 70 hours per week—because she’s built a team that is able to handle the day-to-day duties. Now, she’s able to take a step back and identify what she needs physically and mentally in order to sustain the high-level of energy required of a CEO.
Read the full article here.
